Accreditation Costs and Fees
Costs and fees associated with accreditation by ACOE.
Application fees
The ACOE assesses programs seeking accreditation or preaccreditation an application fee. Application fees for new professional optometric degree programs should be submitted with the program's feasibility study and letter of application. Application fees for optometric residency programs and optometric technician programs should be submitted with the program's letter of application. The current application fees follow:
| TYPE OF PROGRAM | APPLICATION FEE PER PROGRAM effective Jan. 1, 2022 |
| Professional Optometric Degree Programs | $27,500 |
| Optometric Residency Programs | $2,750 |
| Optometric Technician Programs | $2,750 |
Site visit costs
The cost of any on-site visitation to evaluate a professional optometric degree, optometric residency or optometric technician program by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE) is borne by the institution visited. Following the visit, the institution will be billed for the expenses of evaluators, consultants and Council staff.
Annual accreditation fees
All accredited programs are also charged an annual accreditation fee, and professional optometric degree programs in Stage One designation, Stage Two designation, or a preaccreditation status are charged an annual administrative fee equal to the OD annual accreditation fee. The following is the schedule of the current and future annual accreditation fees charged to each program. Annual fees include a 3% annual increase. A one-time increase is applied in 2023 which is independent of the 3% annual increase.
| TYPE OF PROGRAM | 2023 ANNUAL FEE PER PROGRAM | 2024 ANNUAL FEE PER PROGRAM |
| Professional Optometric Degree Programs | $7,454 | $7,678 |
| Optometric Residency Programs | $1,848 | $1,903 |
| Optometric Technician Programs | $1,848 | $1,903 |
Payment of accreditation fees and policy for non-payment
All institutions offering programs accredited by the ACOE are expected to adhere to the due date for payment of the annual accreditation fee for each ACOE-accredited program sponsored by the institution. Invoices are sent in October and payment is due to the ACOE by Jan. 1 of each year. Programs are also expected to pay any site visit fees for which they are billed within 90 days of receiving an invoice. Programs which do not pay their annual fees by Feb. 15 or site visit fees within 90 days of receiving the invoice will be placed on administrative probation by the ACOE director, in consultation with the ACOE chair. The CEO of the institution sponsoring the program and the program director will be notified of this status and informed that the ACOE intends to withdraw the accreditation of the program(s) at its next scheduled meeting if payment is not received.